Morphogen-IX

RxCelerate has helped Morphogen-IX to transition its research activities to a fully integrated drug development programme with a clear strategy to increase asset value and demonstrate clinical proof-of-concept.

In partnership with the founders of Morphogen-IX, RxCelerate has developed bespoke preclinical models and generated key mechanistic data to support selection of the clinical candidate.

RxCelerate has responsibility for managing company operations and budget, collaborations and out-sourced drug development activities.

RxCelerate has undertaken the preclinical development of Morphogen-IX's exciting new asset targeting the underlying disease pathology in pulmonary arterial hypertension. As a consequence of the critical evaluation of experimental models by Jill and her team, we developed a much deeper understanding of the key preclinical endpoints that are likely to translate into reversal of human pathology. This was a partnership in which RxCelerate showed the ability to question prevailing dogma to make a major difference to our drug development programme. The delivery and execution of preclinical studies has been first-class. I cannot recommend them highly enough if you need to build confidence and proof-of-concept in your preclinical programmes.

CASE STUDY

Morphogen-IX is a preclinical stage biotechnology company that is developing therapeutics for the treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) using a virtual business model. Based on research conducted in the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge, Morphogen-IX has identified a number of drug candidates that target the underlying mechanism of PAH. These have the potential to reverse the structural damage to the lung vasculature that is characteristic of the disease. RxCelerate has worked with Morphogen-IX to generate the pharmacology data that supports selection of a clinical candidate, and to plan the preclinical and clinical development of the lead molecule through to clinical proof-of-concept.

Working closely with the company founders, RxCelerate is enabling progression of the development programme in the following ways:

Development, characterisation and refinement of preclinical pharmacology models to interrogate the mechanism of action of the lead molecules.

Generation of in vivo pharmacology data to support selection and progression of a clinical candidate.

Design and execution of exploratory safety studies to confirm the benefits of the engineered therapeutic proteins and support selection of the clinical candidate.

Initiation of manufacturing feasibility work to support the planning of CMC activities to first-time-in-human (FTIH) clinical studies.

Management of company operations and budget, collaborations and out-sourced development activities.

Design and implementation of detailed operational plans and budget through to FTIH studies as the basis for Series B fundraising.

RxCelerate has helped Morphogen-IX to transition its research activities to a fully integrated drug development programme with a clear strategy to clinical development, concomitantly meeting milestones to increase asset value and secure further financing.